RWBY: BRNS' Tale
by rilekkvanderson
Summary: When street orphan Nerik Varkos is taken in after a job, he's given a choice:Go to prison, or join Beacon Academy. When he to Beacon, he will find new friends, a new team, new enemies, and discover what his true destiny really is. RubyxOC fic, along with Monochrome. Rated M for cursing, extreme violence, a lot of pain, and much worse to come. First fic ever!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N : Hey, people. This is the my first fanfiction, and it's a little dark in places, so don't hate on it. **

RWBY: BRNS' tale

Prelude: The Incident

Darkness creeped over the nation of Vale, and the city lights shined like starts. The Schnee Dust Company Tower stands out as a mass of light, shining over everything else in the city, and all seems peaceful. However, near the bottom of the enormous tower, right outside a door for maintenance workers is a young boy, working on picking the lock to the door. His name is Nerik. Formerly an orphan, he simply roams the street and slums by himself, stealing money and fending for him and him alone.

As he picks the lock, Nerik thinks about the job he is about to do: steal video disks containing footage over any mistreatment over Faunus workers. Why they wanted it, he didn't care. The people who contracted him, the White Fang, were willing to pay a lot of money for those disks. Jiggling the one of his lock picks a certain way; he unlocked the door and smiled to himself. Go time.

Bounding up the stairs, moving two or three steps at a time, Nerik noticed that the building had a serious lack of security. The only people he had passed were several workers attempting to make their way home, and all Nerik had to do was slide past them, earning weird looks from them. But other than that, no alarms, no guards, nothing on the stairs or doors. Certainly something strange was going on. Nerik know there were at least 60 floors, and the chairman's room was at the top level. So it shocked him to see that there were only 58 floors by way of the staircase. Nerik looked at the door leading to the main floor room, and murmured, "Weird. No problem, though." He kicked down the door viciously. What greeted him didn't take so kindly to that.

Nerik was greeted by entire rows of Atlesian 130 Knights. The Knights all turned towards him, brought down their mechanized faceguards, and droned, "Intruder, Identify yourself."

Nerik looked around, searching for any way out of this. The robots surged forward, attempting to restrain him, arms reaching out. Ducking and dodging his way to the center of the room, and took his fighting stance. The robots, seeing him ready for a fight, morphed their arms into their bladed forms, and charged forward.

Activating his gauntlets, Nerik slammed his fist into the faceplate of the first droid he could reach. The gauntlets, which covered his fist in smaller, individual plates for mobility, shot forward about two inches, powered by Air Dust, with enough force to smash a car head-on. Nerik quickly dispatched a few more droids, and spotted an exit on the other side of the room, away from his entrance. Knocking away more knights, he sprinted towards the door, reaching it, and seeing more stairs. Slamming the door on the Knights, he shot upwards towards the next few floors, and did the same with the next few, until he reached a set of double doors. Going into the room, he slammed the door shut, barring it. After moments of banging from Knights on the other end, silence befell the room.

Looking around the top floor—the floor whose only one with enough wealth for the luxurious desk, with the very plush chair, and the highest caliber of computers. This was the office of Atticus Schnee, Chairman and CEO of Schnee Dust Company, and one of the wealthiest men alive.

Nerik moved quickly, poking around the room, through every desk drawer and searching for the video disks. However, he did pocket several nice-looking jewels and Dust crystals, which he kept so he could make some kind of profit off of. Finding a small latch, he found the disks labeled "Accidental Mistreatment of Faunus Workers." Seizing the disks, he slowly made his way to the door, ready to make his way down. But as he walked, he felt a slight breeze flow past his neck, and heard the unmistakable sound of moving gears.

Leaping out of the way, just as a massive Spider-droid, one that easily cracked the marble floor of the room smashed down. Standing straight, the robot was ten feet tall, easily, with four legs and twin rotating cannons on each arm. Nerik grimaced, knowing exactly what this thing was capable of, and that he needed to ask for more money once he got out of this.

The droid surged forward, already blasting at him. Nerik moving at incredible speed, ducked behind the desk. He only had one way to take down this robot, and he hated to do that. But there really was no way out of this.

Leaping over the desk, Nerik sprinted towards the robot, concentrating, and letting his Aura flare, watching as the water-like waves of energy rolled off of him, and leapt onto the Spider-droid, slightly knocking it off balance. Raising his fists clasped together, he brought down his arms onto the head of the Spider-droid, and with the power of his semblance, the droids head crumpled like aluminum foil underneath his hands.

The robot smashed through the floor, going through it, and started falling down, causing a chain reaction, pancaking the other floors beneath them. Finally reaching the ground floor, the Spider-droid, already heavily damaged at this point, was smashed to pieces, and Nerik, panting from adrenaline, rushed outside, only to find rows and rows of police, all with guns pointed straight at him, all prepared to fire. "Hands above your head!" one officer yelled, and Nerik, exhausted, his arm in pain, and not wanting to be shot, obliged. An officer moved in, handcuffed him, shoved him roughly into a car, and slammed the door shut.

Unseen by all, stood a man with a mug of steaming coffee in one hand, and a small video player in the other. He smiled. Things were going to be very interesting.

**A/N: Okay, so how was it? Was it enjoyable? If it was, please favorite and review if you liked it. And the next chapters will be in Nerik's POV. Please, again, favorite this, and help motivate me to make more chapters!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Okay, ya'll this is the next chapter. Enjoy! Oh, and quick fav and review when you get the chance!**

Chapter 1: The Deal

The interrogation room was cold. The handcuffs on my wrists weren't helping in any way to elevate my comfort, but they never do. I tried to get them off, but apparently, the cops were getting smarter, or they just got better cuffs. Great. Just what I needed today.

After getting caught by the cops, and after my job got interrupted by the droids I had to take on, this day was just getting worse and worse. I couldn't believe that I had finally gotten in this situation, where I'm trapped with no way out. I've been arrested and put in the car, but I always got out of the car before I ended up here. Now, I had a feeling I was in for a really, really bad life.

The door opened, and a man in a nice-looking suit walked in. He wore glasses which were balanced on the bridge of his nose, and had silver hair crowning his head. His eyes were a deep, dark brown, and spoke with age, kindness, and wisdom. In one hand, he held a plate with a delicious looking sandwich on it, and in the other, he held a cup of coffee. Taking a sip from the coffee, he set the plate down, and at that moment, my stomach had decided to mimic the call of a whale. The man smiled, and said, "I would assume you're a little hungry." He unlocked my cuffs, sat down, and gestured for me to eat.

Now, under better circumstances, these being I was a little cleaner, less hungry, and a little less tired, I probably would have said some sort of smart-ass comment like, "Go fuck yourself!" or "Kiss my ass old man!", but dammit, I was really, really hungry. I hadn't eaten anything in the last three days. I scarfed down the sandwich, extremely thankful for the meal. The man in the suit simply smiled and drew a scroll from his pocket, and clicked on something. I saw video footage of me fighting the droids, and taking down the Spider-droid right after attacking me. "You've taken down several, very dangerous, and very powerful droids, with weapons crafted obviously by yourself, and all done by using a fighting technique only known by very few. And you don't even have a scratch." He set the scroll down, entwined his fingers together, and asked, "Where on Remnant did you learn those techniques?"

I said nothing, because in truth, I have no idea of where I got those techniques. I just knew them, but I wasn't going to tell this stranger that. And my weapons were crafted by me, but that was after I stole the parts to make them.

The man gave a small smile, and asked politely, "Do you know who I am?" When I shook my head to answer no, he kept going, "My name is Ozpin. I am the headmaster of a school for individuals such as you. I believe you've heard of it. Beacon Academy. And in all honesty, I'd like you to join."

I stared at him like he was crazy, which he probably was. Beacon Academy, the school of Vale's best Hunters and Huntresses, and this wackjob wanted me in this school?! What is this guy thinking?!

Ozpin could probably see the many questions I had, and smiled again." I believe that each one of my students has something special. Something that can make them great."

I couldn't help but think of my fighting abilities, my massive amount of Aura, my semblance, and the orphanage mother. My Aura could heal whatever wound I had, and with my semblance, that helped. I wished I knew why I had this gift, why I had these fighting abilities, and so much more.

"It's either that, or prison." Ozpin said, sensing my hesitation. "And I don't believe you'll like the Acroth prison.

I froze when he said that feeling all of the warmth I had drain from my body at the thought of Acroth prison. Home to the worse of the worst criminals, and governed by the General Ironwood's handpicked men, it was the worst prison in the four kingdoms. If you were wanted, and were very good at doing what I did, you were sent to Acroth prison. And I had no desire to go there.

"Okay, look." I said. "If I go with you, and you don't turn me in to the police, what am I gonna get out of this?"

Ozpin looked at me eye-to-eye and stated, "Freedom."

Freedom. Something I thought I'd never obtain. Being able to sleep without keeping one eye open at night, able to get up from a full nights sleep, to not have to worry about having to get away from the cops in the next days to come, and to have a meal when I wanted it. True, honest to god freedom.

"I'll take it." I said.

Ozpin clapped his hands. "Excellent! I'll get a guard to drop your charges against you." I smiled, and stood, already ready to walk out. "The door's locked from the inside." Ozpin said, watching me pull out my skeleton key, and unlock the door. "Ah very well then." He remarked, obviously impressed.

If he only knew what I was really capable of.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Okay fellas, new chapter! This had been going pretty well! Makes me very happy! Please, read and review, so and so, and forewarning, sorry about chapter length. Hopefully the next few will be a little longer.**

Chapter 2: Academy

I stared out of the window of the Bullhead, looking at the city, seeing where I'd been before: the slums, the ghettos, the richer parts of town. I thought to myself just how far down a path I was going. Where it could lead, I had no idea.

After I had left with Ozpin, his colleague, a lovely lady by the name of Professor Goodwitch, gave me an once-over, and decided I was in drastic need of new clothes. She tried her best to get me out of the clothes I was in, but I flat-out refused to cooperate, not wanting to get out of the only clothes I had, so she had me dress down, turn out every one of my pockets, and seized up my clothes, washing and fixing them, and after I had cleaned myself up, returned them. The clothes were extremely cleaner and lighter without the caked-on mud and dirt I had had before. The only problem was what I had to put back in my pockets. I still had some Lien, the still-stolen disks, and dust cartridges for my weapon, some food, and my lockpicks all had to come out so my clothes could wash. Putting all of that back in was harder than it sounds.

Anyway, back on the Bullhead, I could already see Beacon Academy, and it looked amazing getting closer. The tall spires, sprawling grounds, all incredibly ornate and massive. I was sure I could find myself plenty of hidey-holes. Hmmm…

"Hi!" spoke a chipper, bubbly, female voice from behind me. Whirling around, I saw a smiling blond little girl, with a short red skirt, a blue blouse that covered up her chest with plate guards on her arms and legs. "I'm Samantha! But you can just call me Sam. What's your name?"

I simply gave her a glare and looked away. But instead of getting the hint, she bounded in front of me, saying extremely loudly, "Not very friendly? Well, I wanna be your friend!

"Samantha, come back here." came a soft, alluring female voice. I turned and saw a sad, pale-looking young girl, with raven black hair, soft gray eyes, and a sad, almost mourning smile. She wore black jeans, a dark red long-sleeved shirt, and had a small mechanical box hanging behind her on a strap. "I don't think he wants to make friends with anyone."

"Awww, but he looks so lonely!" Sam wailed. "And I wanted to talk to someone else!"

The black-haired girl pressed her fingers to her temple. "I'm so sorry about her." she apologized. "She's just … a little too friendly. I'm Bella, by the way."

"Nerik." I replied, nodding my head, holding on to the handrail as the Bullhead landed at Beacon.

"Oh!" Sam yelled in my ear. "I heard that Beacon will let people team up! Maybe we'll be a team!"

"No." I said walking off the ship, and passing a guy who was hunched over a trashcan, hurling. Dude probably had motion sickness. Poor bastard.

"But Neeerik!" Sam wailed after me. I kept walking, until I heard an extremely loud explosion, and rushed towards the sound. As I got closer and closer, I heard a voice screaming at someone, and when I rounded a pillar, I saw a white-haired girl, wearing a dress of the same color, and shaking a vial of Dust at another girl, this one wearing a red cloak, leggings, a skirt, ruby-soled combat shoes, and a strange mechanical contraption on the back of her waist. The latter girl, I had no idea who the hell she was, but she looked like she was too young for something like this school. The former girl, however, I knew all too well. Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, and the CEO's daughter.

Weiss kept shaking this vial of dust in her hand, and suddenly, after a small sneeze, maybe from the other girl, an explosion of flames, lightning, and icicles rocked the earth, and then Weiss was heard angrily screeching, "You DOLT!"

I did not want to talk to Weiss, even though I wanted to defend the girl, but I don't think that the Weiss Schnee would be too happy to see me after what happened at her father's Tower. So, I simply walked away, and walked back into the auditorium.

The place was huge. There were countless places to hide, or to just relax. Thousands of others, all soon-to-be Hunters and Huntresses were crowded around each other, murmuring and chatting to each other.

Someone bumped my shoulder, and as I turned to snarl, "Watch it, ass!" I saw who it was, and my breath caught in my throat as I saw the guy who bumped into me turn and observed me with his golden eyes, devilish smirk, and his long trench coat, hiding his weapon behind him, and his battle ready stance.

"Well, well," he said, his voice smooth as silk. "How's it going, Nerik?"

I snarled right back, "Rilek."

**A/N: WHOOOHOOHOOOO! How about that cliffhanger?! Don't worry, Rilek will get explained more in the next chapter. Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3:

Old Friends

"Well, well! It's been a long time." Rilek said, looking me up and down. "What happened to ya? You disappeared after that little incident we had in Mistral, what with the ah, minor blow-up."

"A minor blow-up?! A Bullhead got dropped on an entire building! It's a fucking miracle that no one died!" I yelled at him. "And I told you to give me double my payment for that! Where the hell is my money?!"

Rilek simply looked at me with a face that clearly said, "You're overreacting." I glared at him, and grumbled, "So why the hell are you here, Vanderson? Scamming someone else? Because I can guarantee that you aren't here to be a Hunter.

Rilek shook his head, and said, "Dude, why else would I be here? I'm obviously going to be a Hunter. The scamming can actually wait."

I glared at him and asked, "Then how did you get here? Did you ride on your dad's money again? Cause your skill has nothing on mine."

Rilek looked away, and kept his hand on the pommel of his sword, whose name was Demon Slayer. I've seen it in use, at it's deadly in his hands. "Actually, I had this sort of epiphany when we parted ways. I really do want to be a Hunter. Don't wanna be some stupid rich kid forever. I want some form of actual meaning, and some way of getting better at using my blade. I want to actually be someone, ya know?"

I'll be honest; I was slightly taken aback by what he just said. I thought he was simply a smart-ass, and a rich one at that. It knocked me off guard that that had happened.

Rilek clapped me on the shoulder, and said, a little too loudly, "So, why are you here, eh? Oum knows you couldn't possibly get in here unless…you finally got caught doing crime, didn't you?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah, I got caught. What about it?" I grumbled, watching him try and contain his laughter. "If you laugh, I'm going to kill you."

Rilek barely choked down what laughter he had. "O-Okay man. Okay, I'm cool, I'm good." He smiled and shakes his head. "Good Oum, you actually got caught! The uncatchable Nerik Vakos, getting captured by the good boys in blue! Oh man!"

My face got hot as I looked away. "Shut the hell up, asshole." I growled at him.

Our attention went over to Ozpin as he stood on the stage of the auditorium, and speaking into a microphone. "I'll…keep this brief…" he said, in a tone that said that he may have been thinking of something else entirely. "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge—to hone your craft and acquire new skills—and when you have finished; you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose—direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take that first step." He walked to Goodwitch, and stepped away. Goodwitch had already started to talk when Rilek started speaking next to me, "He seemed kinda…off, didn't he?"

I nodded. "It was like he wasn't even in the room, like he wasn't paying attention to what he was saying." I murmured back to him.

He nodded in return. "Alright. C'mon, Goodwitch is handing out bed rolls for us to sleep on."

I grimaced. Couldn't we already get on with this? I wanted to actually start this school thing. And as I grumbled to myself, I got tackled to the ground, with a very, very loud girl squealing in delight at the top of her lungs. "Nerik! Hi!" comes the overly-cheery and familiar voice that confirmed my fears of who just tackled me.

"Already popular, are we?" came Rileks smart-ass comment. I flipped him off, and I heard him chuckle.

"Oh! Are we gonna be sleeping altogether here? It'll be like a huge slumber party!" Sam cheered, and through her cheers, I could hear Bella yelling, "Sam! Don't be so loud! And get off of Nerik, he's getting squished under you!" and the weight on my back was lifted.

When I stood up, I noticed the girl in red getting yelled at by the Schnee girl before. A close look at her face revealed that her hair was tipped red, with silver eyes, and a cherubic, cute fa—wait, where did that come from!

Oum, this place is going to be the death of me.

**A/N: Hey guys, what's up, it's me with a brand new chapter! Thanks you guys for all of the reviews and favs from this story. Really gets me going here. And I did say this was going to be a RubyxOC fic, and so it begins! Also, just give it a fiew days.**


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been updating. School has been a total fustercluck. Anyway, here's a new chapter! Hope you enjoy, and as always Read and Review. It helps! PS: Constructive criticism only

Chapter 4: Initiation pt. 1

As I slept, I couldn't help but think of what Ozpin had said, and what the meanings behind it said. What on Remnant could he possibly be talking about?

Loud bangs woke me up no sooner had I had these thoughts in my head. Groaning, I shifted my head and looked down from my position in the rafters to see other students were already up and moving about.

Why was I in the rafters? Sam. She was the entire reason I was in the rafters. The extremely hyper, happy, and clingy girl had kept me imprisoned in a hug of death, at least, until I managed to wiggle out, and escape up to the rafters. Now, I leapt down, knowing I would easily land on my feet. Unfortunately, I landed on someone else instead of my own feet.

"AAAAHH!" the girl I had the misfortune to land on screamed in shock. I gave a similar shout, but mine sounded more like: "OW!"

Groaning, I rolled off the body I had landed on, and was about to apologize to her, when I saw who it was: the red-haired girl from before. "Did you have to land on me?" she groaned.

"My bad, didn't know anyone was below me." I apologized. "I'm Nerik." I extended my hand to help her up, which she accepted. "Do you always land on people? Or am I just a special case?" she pondered.

"Eh, I like to get to high places when I sleep. Let's me jump down in a pretty cool style." I explained, embarrassed. Sad part was, this wasn't exactly false. "Usually I don't land on people unless it's by accident, or I totally meant to."

"Soooo…you don't like me?" she asked, all confused. "N-No! That was just an accident!" I explained quickly trying to say that I wasn't a bad person, and this ended up getting her to giggle.

Giggle. In a combat school.

God Oum, who is this girl?!

"I'm Ruby. Nice to meet ya!" she exclaimed holding out her hand. I shook hers and said, "Aren't you a little young to be in Beacon?"

She blushed at that and responded, "Yeah, but I got ahead by two years."

Holy fucking shit! Two years?! This chick is either and incredible genius, or just incredibly lucky. Either way, it was incredible. And at that moment, a long-haired blonde bounded up out of nowhere and wrapped her arm around Ruby. "Hey Rubes! Who's this dude? He's kinda hot." She said waggling her eyebrows at me.

I couldn't help but chuckle as the two talked and bickered like siblings. It was pretty funny. I turned to walk away, and got sidelined by Rilek. "Dude, where the hell have you been?!" he yelled at me. "We gotta go! We were supposed to be by the Cliffside for initiation almost an hour ago. C'mon!" With that, Rilek sprinted away.

Cliffside? Initiation? What the…at this moment my brain had finally finished uploading the info I needed and then…Oh, my goddammit!

About a half an hour later, I finally found the cliffs, sprinting past other students and going to some sort of square panel built into the ground.

"Welcome students. Glad you all could make it." Ozpin said, smiling at me, and then Goodwitch giving me a dirty look. "For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."  
No problem at all. I slipped on my sunglasses, which were stolen when I first started getting good at it. I looked to my left as I hear clanking noises. I see other students getting launched off of the Cliffside.

"Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path," Ozpin warned. "Or you will die."

Interesting. So we have to survive? Seems easy enough. I braced myself, and the next thing I knew, I'm launched in the air. I see Rilek, Bella, Ruby, and Sam all flying in the same direction as I was. I also saw a poor soul flipping around and around, all the while screaming like a girl.

Damn. Some people just aren't cut out for this sort of thing.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I'm late. School's been trying to kill me, and teachers are just being a little mean. But, I digress. Here is your now new chapter! As always please R&amp;R, and only constructive and positive criticism please!**

**I don't own RWBY or have any affiliation with Roosterteeth. All rights belong to them.**

Chapter 5: Initiation pt. 2

This is a nice looking forest, I thought to myself as I slammed my gauntlet covered fists into a tree in order to break my descent. I slowed down enough to where I could flip down to the ground, and land feet-first.

Looking up, I see Rilek flying above me, screaming in joy at the top of his lungs. Not a moment later, I heard the cry of, "Birdie, no!" from a very familiar voice. Ruby! I look up and see that Ruby is flying at incredible speeds, her cloak billowing behind her.

Charging in the direction she was going, I run through shrubbery and bushes, until I ran headfirst into some sort of black shape. I fell back, landing on my rear end. Rubbing my head, I was about to shout at the person I had run into, until I found out that I hadn't run into a person at all.

A Beowulf Alpha. Its pack wasn't anywhere to be found, and as it faced me, it snarled menacingly. I leapt back to gain distance, and stood ready to attack. The Alpha swiped at me with its incredibly sharp claws, and hit the earth as I moved away, shifting my center of gravity in order to slam one of my fists into its chest, and another to its right shoulder. The monsters shoulder blew apart from the force of my punch, and its ribs shattered on impact, lacerating its organs and killing it from the inside.

As it died, its body disintegrated, and the next moment that I look around to see if anything else was there. Sure enough the former Alphas pack had arrived, and was extremely angry with me. A couple of them took swipes at me, jaws snapping in roars of anger. I stood ready, prepared to kill more of the monsters, and—

Watched as a dark blur flew around, slicing into the monsters hides, and within seconds, the entire pack was already disintegrating. A closer look at their slayer (and hopefully my new ally) revealed a familiar form, wielding twin black daggers. The daggers disappeared as she rose up, spotting me, and cried. "Hiii Nerik!"

Good Oum, why? Why did it have to be Sam?

The girl in question bounded up to me as I tried to turn and walk away, blocking my every escape. "Yay! We're partners now!" she cried happily. I glared at her, hoping to get her away from me, but to no effect. "So, what are we gonna do now, Nerik? Got any clue, my new partner?"

"Okay," I started. "Firstly, since when were we partners?"

"Ozpin said that the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the next few years," she explained. "Didn't you hear that?" A glare from me told her no. "So we're partners now!" she said.

I groaned inwardly. "Second. How did you move that fast? I've never seen anyone move that fast before."

Sam cocked her head to one side. "You mean my semblance? Shadow travel?" she asked. "I can basically move between shadows, but I have to be in the same area as the shadow I'm traveling into. I can't go too far without either killing myself or ending up somewhere I'm not supposed to be." She scratched her head in a manner that said she was embarrassed, despite having a massive grin on her face. I sighed. "Alright fine, so we're partners. May as well get used to that fact."

Sam cheered in happiness. "So what do we do now?"

I thought for a moment, and decided. "We go north."

Sam frowned. "Why are we going north? And I don't have a compass, so I don't know where north is."

I pointed to the sky. "Sun is rising from the east. East is that way." I pointed to my right, and then pointed behind me. "As to why, Ozpin said that the temple relics we were collecting are north of where we started."

"Sam looked at me with wonder in her eyes. "That's so cool! Where'd you learn that stuff?"

"You learn it quickly from where I come from." I answered her, not wanting to give out too much information, but of course, Sam decided to ask twenty questions at top speed, asking about where I was from over and over again.

"Sam, you aren't gonna—do you smell that? I asked, smelling something burning. A quick look around, and I spotted a pillar of smoke rising above the trees. "Dammit, a forest fire. Sam, move it!"

Sam, silent for once, was mesmerized by the smoke. Pressing for time, I grabbed her by the waist, picked her up, and carried her, running as fast as I could.

The strangest thing was when I looked back at Sam to see if she was okay, I saw that she had her eyes squeezed shut, and she was saying something over and over under her breath.

**Whoahohoho! Sam's got some sort of skeleton in her closet! Wonder what it could be? :D Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thanks for reading this! See ya!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6: Initiation pt. 3

Gasping for air, I stopped near some rock outcroppings, dropping Sam gently against a rock face. I plopped down next to her, panting. "Well, that was certainly something. You okay, Sam?" I said, looking back to her. She was shaking visibly, clearly afraid of something.

"Hey, Sam.: I said, nudging her. "Sam. Sam!" I started to yell at her, trying to get her out of this state and to respond to me, when she suddenly threw her arms around my chest and sobbed into my shoulder.

Why she was doing this, I had no idea. Her actions thus far were a downright mystery to me. I barely knew this girl, didn't know anything about her, or what happened to her past, but this obviously had something to do with it.

Trying to calm her down, I hesitantly put my arm around her, comforting her in any way I could. As soon as I did that, her sobbing slowed down. A moment later, the sobbing eventually turned into sniffling, and she finally calmed down a little. "Sorry," she said hoarsely. "You must think I'm stupid, huh? Afraid of a little smoke." She smiled lopsidedly.

I shook my head. "Nah you're alright. It's good to be afraid." I told her softly. "Everyone's got a fear of something. I've got one. Well, several, but that's not the point."

Sam looked at me and asked such a strange, innocent question, it almost made me think she was a five-year-old: "What could you be afraid of?"

Oh, man. What a question to ask. Where do I even begin? My fear of being controlled without me knowing it? The one of insects (seriously, anything with more than four legs is creepy)? Or maybe…

"My fear of losing anyone closest to me." I murmur. "I've always had that."

Sam leaned against me and said. "I don't like fire."

"Well, I would've guessed that." I said, putting a smile on her face. "But why exactly are you scared of flames? Not that it isn't bad."

Her smile faded at my query. "I-I don't like to talk about it." She buried her face into my now-wet shoulder. "It's not something I like to talk about."

I squeezed her a bit. "Don't worry. You won't have to." I told her. "By the way, your tears are gonna leave one hell of a stain on my jacket."

She giggled, and then a voice crowed from above us. "Awww…look at you two. Perfect couple!" Rilek said. I looked up and see him leaning over the rocks, with the biggest smirk on his face.

"YOU!" I yelled, my face already growing hotter by the second. Rilek launched himself in the air, and landed next to me, laughing all the while. "Oum, you guys are so hilarious!"

I looked towards Sam, who was currently being smothered in a massive hug by Bella, with whom knew a little bit of what had happened from Sam.

"So, you're Bella's new partner, eh asshole?" I growled at Rilek. He just smiled. "Long story short," he started with his smartass smirk. "She helped me out from a bunch of Ursai. I could have handled them—"

"But he was worried about 'style points' as he called it, and didn't see them coming." Bella interjected, still having a tight hold on Sam.

"Yeah, that sounds like him." I agreed, a smirk creeping over my face.

"Hey, Bella. Ya might wanna let go of Sam over there." Rilek said, smiling devilishly. Oh, this isn't going to end well. "Nerik might want to hold her for just a bit longer."

"That's it!" I yelled, throwing my fist towards him. He nimbly leapt out of the way, and then leaned casually on the rock wall. I charged at him again, hitting nothing but the rock with a dull thud.

Wait a minute…

"Uh, guys? Something's wrong with this rock." I called, backing away slowly. We all faced the rocks, praying that this was just some stupid rock, that nothing bad was going to happen, even as a large, red eye opened, and glared straight at us. We all did the smart thing then and ran, even when we heard the rumbling of the very earth moving upward.

"The hell is that thing?!" Rilek screamed over the noise. "It's gigantic!"

"It's one of the rarest types of known Grimm. I think it's almost one of the most ancient." Bella yelled back. "It's a Draon!"  
The massive Grimm, finally out of the earth, roared, its giant lizard-like maw spewing out a great tongue of flames. Then the thing turns to us, and began to move slowly, then speeds up, its tail swinging in wide arcs, smashing through the trees.

We had to get away from that thing?! My luck _can't _be this bad.

**A/N: Okay, so a few words before I sign off. Firstly, there will be one last chapter in the Emerald Forest, so be patient. Also, that last chapter will be hopefully a longer chapter. Secondly, I can't guaruntee a new chapter. I will try my best though! As always thanks so much for your support! Please read and review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Okay, so my newest chapter has some more detail, and is a little longer. Also, there is a battle scene, so when I say "Que battle music", you can choose whatever song or music you feel is necessary for it. Without further ado, here it is! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. All idea credit goes to me and my brother, Sora.**

Chapter 7: Initiation pt. 4

We sprinted as fast as we could, trying to get away from this thing. The Draon, its massive body smashing through the forest, chased after us, already hot on our heels. I glanced back, and the thing was meters away from reaching us. I snapped my vision forward, and looked to the sky. The sun was already straight up, so finding north was going to be a problem.

"Nerik!" This way!" Rilek yelled to my left, and I leapt that way, rolled and sprinted my way through a thicker part of the forest. I dove into a ring of bushes, where everyone else was at.

"Rilek, keep your voice down. Sam, stop shaking." Bella whispered. I looked at Sam, who was shaking like a leaf. "Bella, what in the great realms of Grimm is that thing?" I whispered to her. "The overgrown lizard Grimm, you called it a Draon?"

Bella nodded and explained in the softest voice she could so we could all hear her, "That's right. Draons are notorious for burning down villages near mountain ranges. Supposedly, most of the mare extinct, but apparently this one likes to live far from home, and live for a while."

"Yeah, no fucking shit." Rilek grumbled. "Any idea how to take the damn thing down?" He poked his head over the bushes and around trees, scanning the area for the Draon.

"Honestly I don't know." Bella sighed sadly, "It took a team of Hunter s to take one down. Besides, I don't exactly see a way to get to it without its fire breath turning us into fried human treats."

"Well, lucky for us," I said. "We've got a team. And someone who's resistant to fire. Ain't that right, Rilek?" Rilek took one look at me and yelled, forgetting where we were, "Are you out of your mind?!"

We stayed still, praying we didn't attract the Draons attention. Unfortunately, the monster crashing through the trees, roaring flames, sort of squashed our hopes.

"Nice one, Rilek. Ya threw us out there for the monster to come and eat dinner." I growled, dodging a falling tree, and sprinting as fast as possible. "It's your goddamn fault!" Rilek yelled. "Now, let's get the fuck outta here!"

We ran as fast as we could, until after jumping through trees and branches, we finally reached a clearing, with a set of old, old ruins, with a group of several other students already there, with some very familiar…

"Make for the ruins!" Bella yelled ahead of us. "I'll buy us some time!" She took out her weapon, a metal collapsible staff, and split it in half. With a loud cry, she slammed the twin rods together, and visible waves of energy slammed into the earth, throwing up a massive makeshift wall. "That won't hold it for long. Let's go!" Bella yelled, and took off towards the ruins.

We all managed to reach the ruins, and I was immediately tackled to the ground by an overjoyed Ruby. "Nerik! What took you so long?" she demanded.

"We got attacked." I replied, smiling, as well as trying to get out of this girls hold. She just squeezed tighter, clearly not wanting to let go.

I took a look around, viewing the others. Yang, Weiss, a girl with amber eyes and raven black hair adorned with a little black bow, along with Vomit Boy, a red-haired warrior girl, a guy wearing mostly green, with black hair, save for the pink strip in his bangs, and a ginger girl who had a lot of Sam's over-cheery qualities.

"Okay, so we have that thing up there." Said the raven-haired girl, pointing up. I looked up and saw a giant Nevermore, flying around. Well shit. A Death Stalker, a ways away from us was attempting to pull its tail from a mass of ice. Double shit.

"I think we need to get out of here." Bella said, "I don't think my wall's going to hold up." I looked, and saw that the Draon was definitely breaking through the wall.

"But we'll never escape all three of em!" Sam wailed. "What do we do?"

I looked at Rilek. "Dude, you know what you can do. Then do it!" With that, I activated my gauntlets. "Bella, Sam, gonna need your help."

"That Draon's not exactly easy to beat. Not only does it breathe fire, but get close enough and its claws will tear you to pieces." Bella explained. "So we're gonna need to get under it. That's the only soft spot it actually has."

"QUE BATTLE MUSIC"

"We'll help." the redhead says enthusiastically. Rilek shook his head. "No, we got this. You get out of here." he said in a low voice. "We'll handle it." He drew his sword, and held it with both hands. Oh, holy shit.

"Rilek, I said use your semblance not tear your arms apart!" I yelled.

Rilek just smiled at me "I'll distract the Draon. Bella, Sam, mind if you help Nerik get under it?"

Sam piped up. "Just…keep the flames away. I'll get him close."

Bella nodded. "Just stay away from the claws. If you really are resistant to fire, that should be the only thing you need to be wary of.

Rilek nodded, and then twisted the handle of his sword. The blade shifted, extending and expanding, the hilt doing the same. After finished transforming, the blade stood at least five feet tall, and as Rilek held it, he used his semblance, wreathing himself in tongues of flames. His hair changed color, becoming the shifting colors of fire. His sword shined a burning red, and seemed to emit a sinister aura by itself.

"What the hell?!" Sam exclaimed, shocked by Rileks transformation. He must have looked like something straight from the depths of Hell. "I've only seen him do this once." I said grimly. "He gave it a name. Akuma no Hono: Demons Flame."

Rilek charged the Draon, screaming a war cry, hefting his giant blade. The Draon did the typical thing: It roared, and a massive gust of flames enveloped Rilek.

"Rilek!" Sam screamed in shock.

The flames receded, revealing Rilek, still charging forward, unscathed. "How?" Bella asked, awe in her voice. "A Draons breath can reach over two thousand degrees!"

I smiled, and explained, "Rileks Akuma no Hono form can withstand stronger and hotter flames than that. He literally withstood an explosion that should have killed him, but he being in that form saved his life."

A loud roar drew the three of us from my explanation to the fight. Rilek was slashing the beast in the face. But Rilek was already losing steam. His swings were getting sluggish and heavier, the toll of his transformation was already affecting him. "We have to hurry! That form isn't going to last forever!" I yelled. "Sam! Get ready!"

"R-Right!" Sam replied shakily. I then remembered with a jolt: Sam was still deathly afraid of fire. Bella threw me a glare, unfolded her staff, and rushed forward to help Rilek.

I turned to Sam, and put my hand on her shoulder, feeling her shaking. "Hey, don't worry." I said softly. "I've got you, okay? You're safe with me." I gave her a rare smile—not a smartass smirk, not some empty promise; a real smile, from my heart.

Sam shook her head, and then smiled at me. "Let's do this!" She drew her daggers, which were slightly curved, now that I got a closer look. I nodded, and activated my semblance, pouring all of the power into my fist. A quick glance showed Rilek leaning on a tree, and Bella guarding him, shielding him with a massive wall of energy, which was being battered by the Draons claws and attacks.

"Ready?" Sam said, putting her hand on my shoulder. I nodded, keeping my focus on my semblance. She used hers and teleported us. Next thing I knew, I was underneath the Draon, feeling cold from the effects of the teleportation. "Now!" Sam yelled, and with a shout of fury, I slammed my fist into the Draons underbelly. The thing roared in pain and agony, and was launched into the air, flying above the treetops. Cradling my damaged arm, it still being repaired by my aura, I yelled, "Rilek! Do it!"

He didn't need to be told twice. With a cry of fury, mixed with the pain of wielding his giant sword, he ran, leapt into the air, and met the Draon. He swung his blade, cleaving the massive creature in two. Falling to the ground, not even bothering to keep his sword in his hands, he rolled and lay on the grass, panting.

"We…just killed one of the most feared Grimm…the four of us." Bella murmured in awe. "What…How…?"

"I guess we were born monster hunters I guess." I said, laughing. Sam joined in, and eventually we all started laughing.

"Do we have any relics?" Sam asked once our laughter had subsided, and I groaned. I almost forgot! I turned towards the ruins, but there was nothing there but old rocks.

"You mean these things?" Rilek moaned, holding up two chess pieces, a black and gold king. "Glad I grabbed these before anything else. These must be the relics that Ozpin must've been talking about."  
I lay back in the grass, smiling. We had a team; we just killed a giant Draon, and were alive. I think I'm gonna like this place.

? Pov

Crouched on the mountainside, I watched as Nerik and his friends trudged their way back to Beacon. Not too bad, beating the Draon. The Grimm orb containing its essence crumbled away moments ago. I didn't care. There were more of those to be had. For now, I just needed to watch.

It wasn't time yet. Not nearly time. But one day, Nerik's going to meet me. And when he does, he'll be in for the fight of his life. Literally. My face broke out into a smile. Things are going to get very interesting very, very, soon…

**A/N: Who is this mysterious stranger? Why is he so stalkerish?! The fuck am I talking about?!**

**Craziness aside, I've got a few things I'd like to say. Firstly: HOLY SHIT! I take one look away, then I look back, next thing I know, there are like ten more followers for this story! Thanks!**

**Secondly, I'm holding a little contest! If you are a good artist, submit some artwork for the cover of this story, and I'll give you a sneak peek into the next chapter!**

**Thirdly, I'm sorry it's taking me so long to submit chapters. I'm working hard to get these all done, so just bear with me please!**

**That's all! Thank you so much, and please drop me a quick review if you want, and be sure to follow and fav this story! See ya later!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I am so sorry guys, that it has taken me literally months to get this chapter up and running. I had a ton of stuff to distract me, like my military stuff, Destiny, Skyrim, and Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F (which was a fantastic movie by the way! I loved it!) Anyway, I'm back, and here's the newest chapter! I'll try my hardest to be more forward with the updates and whatnot, but don't worry! I got this!**

**Disclamer: I do not own RWBY. This is a fan-made story. RWBY is owned by Roosterteeth, Monty Oum, and everything in this pales in comparison to that. Please support the official release**

Chapter 8: First Day

Everything that had happened after the battle in the forest was a blur. We had finished initiation, reached the school, where a massive ceremony was held. Beacon students cheered and clapped for us and the other teams. We were then dubbed Team BRNS. Burns. Kinda appropriate after what happened, if you ask me.

Ater we got mostly settled, we all ended up crashing in beds and just slept in our combat gear. We were drained and exhausted, and we didn't care how long we slept at all. Well...all but one of us.

"We're Beacon students!" shouted our overly enthusiastic teammate Sam, waking us all up. Rilek fell from his bed, flailing his arms about, waking up so fast.

"What'd you wake us up for, dammit?!" Rilek yelled angrily. "It's... seven thirty. Damn. Classes start today don't they?"

Bella walked out of the bathroom, already in her uniform: a red skirt, black leggings, white dress shirt under a black jacket. "Well, this also gives us time to unpack while we still can. Classes start at nine." she said calmly. Apparently, she woke up before all of us.

"Right! So let's all obey our fearless leader, and get to work!" Sam cheered, causing Bella to blush at the fearless leader comment. It was very surprising to see her get picked, I'll admit, but Rilek just said shut up, that Ozpin had a damn good reason for doing this.

Rilek grabbed a suitcase and dumped it on his bed, sorting out clothes, books, and his weapon maintenance gear. Sam did almost the same thing, only hers was filled more with stuffed animals and plushies. Bella organized her clothes and miscellaneous items, but taking very good care not to show off undergarments.

That only left me. Everything I had I usually just wore, or stuffed in my many pockets. I sure as hell wasn't going to turn out any of those, revealing all the stuff I had...acquired. Then I remembered, I still had the SDC disks I had kept hidden after my failed job. Oum, that felt so long ago.

Bella looked at her watch. "Guys, it's eight o'clock, we need to eat breakfast. Sam, Nerik, go get clean and in your uniforms. Rilek and I will wait outside." Bella said, and walked out the door. Rilek stood to follow and smiled. "Better behave yourselves!" he cried in malicious glee, and sped out the door before I could even try to strangle him.

Sam shot up, her face a vibrant red color, stuttered, "I-I'll just use the shower!" before running in and slamming the door shut.

That gave the entire room to myself. I immediately stripped, folding my coat gently to not damage anything I had in there, and shoved it underneath my bed. Next, I grabbed my clothes and threw them on. I tried unsuccessfully to put on the tie, before Rilek yelled, "Hey, hope you aren't doing anything too frisky in there!" I said to hell with the tie, and marched out the door, just to try and smash that idiots face in.

We entered the first class, which was Grimm Studies, taught by Professor Port, a robust man with a massive mustache. He also didn't start out well.

"Monsters, demons, prowlers of the night. Yes the creatures of the Grimm have many names." he stated. "But I call them prey!" He gave a sort of enthusiastic laugh that really didn't carry with the rest of the students, except one poor schmuck who decided to try and throw the guy a bone, but only made himself look pretty bad. Port just grunted in disappointment and went on to talk, mostly about himself.

I took a look at the rest of the team. Rilek was already leaning back in his chair, sleeping the class away. Bella was waiting for the actual lesson to start, pen and paper in hand. Sam was nodding off, trying desperately to stay awake, if only just.

I however was paying attention to a certain red-headed girl, Ruby. She apparently showed no interest in the "lesson" as expected, so she did a bunch of random things, ranging from picking her nose to balancing a pencil on it. While all of this was kind of impressive how Port didn't catch her doing this, her partner Weiss looked like she was about to commit several murders, starting with Ruby.

" Does anyone here have these traits?" Port demanded, gesturing to the class, and stealing my attention.

"I DO!" Weiss practically screamed, as her hand shot into the air.

As Weiss gets ready to demonstrate her skill, Port brings out a wool-covered cage with something inside, trying it's best to get out.

Rilek was fully awake now, paying close attention the box and Weiss, sizing them up, and trying to find out what was inside the locked crate. I grimaced, knowing full well that it wouldn't be good.

"Ready?" Port called to Weiss, with his weapon out, a mix between a battleaxe and a blunderbuss. "NOW!" He brought the weapon down onto the lock, severing it, and releasing the creature in the crate, which turned out to be a Boarbatusk.

Rileks brow furoughed. He and i had faced those things before. The armor plating on the tops of their bodies were hard to get through, and Weiss had some sort of rapier weapon with a dust chamber. Not enough to get through the armor by force. Then Weiss went on the offensive, using glyphs to move forward and back, trying to gain an advantage.

Rileks jaw dropped as he looked on. I guess he didn't consider Weiss to be a glyph user. As Weiss's glyphs did a myriad of effects to the creature, the Boarbatusk itself wasn't getting damaged. Suddenly a surprise attack disarmed Weiss, and threw her weapon behind the Boarbatusk.

"Oh ho ho! What will you o without your sword?" said Port from across the room. Ruby yelled, "Weiss, go for the underbelly! There's no armor there!"

Weiss then shocked us all by yelling back, "Don't tell me what to do!"

My jaw fell open from shock. Did she seriously just say that? That's basically the role of a leader, to give out orders! I was about to knock some sense into her, when Bella jumped up, yelling, "Weiss! Behind you!"

Weiss looked behind her and saw the Boarbatusk charging towards her. At the last minute however, she rolls along the ground, grabbing her sword, and casts a glyph on the ground, throwing the creature into the air, and impales the thing on the ground.

"Impressive! It seems as though we have a future Huntress in our midst!" Port declared happily, while Rilek scoffs beside me. The bell rings and we stand to walk out.

"That was intense." Sam said. "I'm gonna like that class if it's like that!"

"I wonder how Ruby's doing." Bella said.

"She should be fine. I think she's too cheery for that." Rilek commented.

"Whatever, let's just find Weiss so I can punch her lights out." I growled.

Rilek just shook his head, and walked away.

**A/N: Finally, done! Now I know this chapter wasn't as long as you may have wanted, but oh well. But anyway, just hit that review button, and drop some reviews! Seriously, do it. Please! Till next time.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Okaaaay! I'm back! I am SO SORRY! I got sent away from this story because of boot camp, and other schooling, and being in the military. BUT I'M BACK BITCHES! And to say I'm sorry, I'm going to give you a new chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN RWBY! (even though I want to)**

Chapter 9

It has been almost two months since I joined Beacon, and with my education-or lack thereof- I needed a lot of help. Thankfully, I had Bella and Sam. And I had Rilek for some things, even though he didn't do much except eat, sleep and fight. But despite being in dire straights, I still managed to scrape by with my grades as horrible as they were.

Anyway, I was eating in the cafeteria with Teams RWBY, JNPR, and my team, BRNS. Ruby herself was currently trying to eat a plateful of cookies while Yang was trying to keep them away from her. Weiss was fixing her nails, and Blake was reading a book. Meanwhile, Jaune was picking at his food, Pyrrha was attempting to cheer him up, and Nora was being Nora, while Ren was trying to keep her down.

I was eating as much as possible, and Sam was poking Rilek in the face, trying to make him spit out his food, and Bella was making an attempt to stop Sam. " Sam! Stop it! Rilek has to eat, and I don't think he likes getting poked in the cheeks." Bella said, pulling on Sams arm.

"But his cheeks are so pokey!" Sam cried. "Try it!"

"No thanks," Rilek said, his mouth full. "I like my food in my mouth." Swallowing, he gobbled the last few bites of his meal, then laid back over the bench. I smiled, and kept eating. Then I heard Jaune talking to Pyrrha about what was troubling him.

"Seriously, it's fine! We're just joking around." Jaune said cheerfully.

"Jaune, that isn't joking around. He's bullying you!" Ruby complained. " It needs to stop!"

"S-Stop! Leave me alone!" A voice shouts. We whip around and see a bunny faunus having her ears pulled by Cardin Winchester, a tall, wide and dumb student who always seemed to wear his armor, even out of his uniform. "Ha! Look at the freak. She's so weird!" he laughed as he pulled. "Let's see if they come off!"

I glanced at Rilek, who had his hands clenched furiously. "Rilek, don't do it." I warned.

"Do what?" Sam inquired, cocking her head to the side, oblivious to Rileks apparent anger. "What's going on?" I look around, and everyone was looking on and grinning, laughing at the poor faunus, or just sad because it was happening. I look back at the faunus, seeing tears fall down her face. Then I hear a slamming noise, which signaled Rileks breaking point, and see him launch over the table, and march over to Cardin.

"No, Rilek!" I yell, and run to him, grabbing his arm. "Don't. He isn't worth it."

Rilek pulled away, and kept walking towards Cardin, until he was right next to him. "Hey, asshole." Rilek growled. "Let. Her. Go."

"Or what?" Cardin challenged, clearly unafraid of Rilek, when he really should be. "You gonna do something about this?"

Rilek grabbed his arm, and squeezed until he let go, then growled, "I'm going to give you this one warning. I don't like bullies. And I especially don't like bullies who pick on innocent faunus girls." Rilek grabbed Cardin by the collar, lifted him up, and slammed him down on the table, breaking it in half. "And that means, I don't like you." He finished, then glared at the rest of Cardin's team. " Any of you want to keep going?"

Cardin's team shook their heads, picked up Cardin, who was unconscious, and took off running with a speed that made Ruby slow. Rilek looked at the faunus, picked her up and said, "You okay?"

The girl blushed furiously, and nodded, and jumped out of Rilek's arms, took her tray, and walked away. Rilek smiled, then looked at the table, then at me. "I am in so much trouble aren't I?'

I facepalmed, and shook my head. I swear...these people are going to be the death of me.

**A/N: And at last! Another chapter! Hope you enjoyed it, and drop a fav and review, and I will keep updating as soon as possible. HAVE A GREAT DAY!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Brand spankin' new chapter! And this one is another fight chapter, so have some good music ready. But first, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my brother, who just celebrated his 22nd birthday. He stuck with me with this story, and even gave me the idea for this chapter, so I owe this one to him. Happy Birthday, brother. I love ya.**

**Disclamer: I DON'T OWN RWBY OR ROOSTERTEETH!**

Chapter 10

"Mr. Varkos! Please keep yourself awake, unless you want to be mauled by an Ursa in the future."

I opened my eyes to find Professor Goodwitch glaring at me, tablet in hand. I sighed. I had fallen asleep during class. It had been happening lately, due to me having to study well into the night. Ah, well. It could be worse. Rilek, who was on my right, elbowed me and pointed at the projector screen, which had the blonde Yang Xiao Long, and...

"Well, buddy, hope you're good at not getting hit!" Rilek mocked, with a massive grin plastered on his face, and Yang herself stood at the other side of the classroom and cracked her knuckles, a smile on her own face. "Might wanna listen to your friend, pal," she called over to me. "And get a crash course on how to dodge!"

I stood up and started walking, when I shot behind, "Hopefully, you don't bruise to easy, because I won't hold back." I continue walking, knowing full well that Yang was fuming. Good, I was counting on that.

Inside the locker room, I had put on my gauntlets in their sheathed form, and was tightening my boots, making sure that nothing slipped. "Please be serious about this." I hear. "I don't think Yang is going to take your smart comments lightly."

I turn and see Bella standing in the doorframe leading to the sparing hall. She still had her uniform on, and a worried expression. "Relax, Bella. I'll be fine." I snarked. "Besides, with any luck, I can just knock her out in less than two minutes." I got up and began to walk out, when Bella grabbed me, stopping me in my tracks. I looked at her, and was a little shocked at her expression. "Just don't use your semblance." she whispered, and let me go. She left, and I stared after her, thinking on what she said. Don't use my semblance? Why? I didn't think I would need it.

As I walked out into the sparring hall, I saw the entire crowd was waiting in anticipation as they were about to see two training Hunters, both using hand-to-hand combat, fight in a sparring match. I chuckle to myself. Oh, they were gonna get a fight. One that was gonna be ridiculously short.

At the other end of the hall, Yang stood, stretching her arms out, getting herself ready for the match. I took notice that she wore two yellow and black bracelets on both arms. Most likely her weapons. "Fighters, come to the ready!" Goodwitch called, and I unleashed my gauntlets, and took my stance: One arm raised in front of me, the other at my waist, and legs bent and ready to spring. Yang did the same, only she took a boxers stance. "Fighters..." Goodwitch paused, readying her tablet to tally a result. "Begin!"

*CUE AWESOME BATTLE MUSIC*

Wasting no time, I spring forward, making it towards Yang in two steps, and launched a volley of quick punches, not using my weapons. Yang blocked all of them, using the front of the gauntlets to guard herself. With my right fist, I slammed into Yang, the gauntlet activating, and the plates jutting forward with the force of a speeding car. Yang gets thrown back, and she looked at me, surprised. "Wow! Never took you to be such a heavy hitter!" She grinned and punched the space in front of her, the sound of a shell being loaded was loud and clear. "But I've got a few tricks as well!" With that, she threw punch after punch at me, sending Dust shells towards me.

I duck and dodge, trying my best to not get hit, when she launches herself at me, and starts to throw her own volley of punches, each one sounding off with a shotgun blast. I could feel the scorching heat from the blasts through my gauntlets, and had to step back a few paces to gain more ground. I then use a pillar to rocket myself toward her and slam my body into her abdomen. Yang's loud, "OOF!" was all the signal I needed to end this fight. With both gauntlets, I slam them both into her chest, both activated, and send her crashing into a pillar.

"Still think I need a crash course on dodging?" I call over to her, as Yang picked herself up, a glare on her face. "You wanna get beaten up so badly? Well, come on!" Yang roared and slammed her fists together, and fire erupted from her body. I grin. Semblance use.

"So we're using Semblance, eh? Fine." I said, then sheathe my right gauntlet, and charge my semblance, pouring power into my right arm. "NERIK NO!" I hear Bella shout, but I block it out. She wants to use Semblance? Fine. Then so will I!

I jump forward, satisfied with the power I put into my fist, and with a primal shout, slam it into Yang, knocking her into the ground, and see nothing but dust, until I then see her fist coming for my face. I move my head just in time for her fist to graze my head. Then we are both pulled apart, and I see Goodwitch glaring at me. I could definitely tell, despite the state of my now shattered arm, and by the look on her face, that I was in deeeep shit.

Again...it could be worse.

**A/N: Again, short chapter, but with more coming! Pester me with Reviews, Likes, and Favs, and as always, take it easy!**


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